The Ring, and The Alchemist
by Chrisaa92
Summary: Ed and Al are heading back to Central. But what happens, if by chance, they are stuck with an interesting piece of work to do?


Disclaimer – I do not own any of the rights to any Full Metal Alchemist characters or Lord of The Rings Characters and so forth.

As the sun was setting over the desert outside of the city of Liore, only two figures could be seen crossing the great expanse of land that stretched for miles upon miles of nothing but dry wind and sand. The day had already been very long as Edward and Alphonse Elrich trudged endlessly on through the vast dessert. After the fall of Father Cornello that was hell bent on keeping himself in power with the help of a false Philosophers Stone, Ed and Al could now been seen making the ever long journey back to Central. Though they had no other means of transport than their own two feet, night was soon coming as quickly as the day had begun. As they walked side by side, with Alphonse clunking along in his hollow armor, and Edward walking next to him with quicker strides, the desert seemed to go on for much longer than it had been before they made the trip to begin with to find the Philosophers stone.

"Um . . . Brother?" Al asked half-heartedly. "Are you sure this is the right way?" But Ed just looked at Al with a very tried expression and laughed sarcastically.

"Of course I know where we're going! It's the same direction we came when we first got here!" Ed said, annoyed at his brothers constant questions.

"I'm just saying, Brother. Maybe we should have asked for directions?"

"From who, Al! There's no one here but us!" Ed yelled as he flailed his arms in the air, pointing in all different directions.

"I mean from the people in town." Al said laughing to himself.

"Trust me, Al. No one would have bothered to help us after all the damage we ended up causing because of that bastard Cornello." Ed said moving his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. "I just wish we didn't have to walk all the way back to central. I'd give anything for a car to stop and get us."

"Would he know where we wanted to go?" Al asked sheepishly. At that moment, Ed jumped at his brother to try and catch him. But Al, although being nothing but a suit of armor, was quick on his feet and stepped to the side before his brother could catch him.

"Get back here, Al! That's not funny!" Ed said chasing Al in circles.

"I didn't say it was! You started chasing me!" Al said laughing and avoiding Ed to the best that he could. After a few minutes had passed, Ed finally gave up on chasing his brother in circles and collapsed on the hard sand to catch what little breath he had.

For the next few days, it had been the same view of the landscape, over and over again until after all the arguments and bickering between Ed and Al, they finally reached the nearest train station.

"Finally! I can't wait to get off my feet!" Ed said grinning and heading to the terminal with Al at his side. When they reached the train, they both quickly boarded it, and were soon on their way back to Central. Ed and Al found a few empty seats and quickly sat down. As they did, Ed noticed a local newspaper that was laid on the seat. When he read the front page though, it was definitely a strange story that was written on the cover.

"Hey, Al, listen to this," Ed said reading the newspaper.

**Mysterious Figure Found But At Large!**

Just after the recent murder of Professor, Jonathan Midius III, The mysterious hooded

figure is still at large! Another murder has been confirmed. This time being a gardener

known as Samuel Lockinson, was found dead in his own front yard a few miles outside

of Central Command for the Military with several lacerations from what local authorities

believe to be either a large knife of sword. Führer Bradley had this to say, "Although we

do not yet know who this man or woman is, rest assured that with the help of local author-

-ities, and the military, we will find this murderer." Though there have only been two

confirmed murders so far, we urge people to keep a look out for this person. He so far

has been alone. He wears nothing but a pure black cloak and hood, and is extremely

dangerous. If you are approached by this individual, call for help immediately and do

not approach this person. He is most likely armed and dangerous.

When Ed finished reading the article, a sigh escaped his lips as he threw the paper away and rested his feet on the seat across from him where Al sat.

"What do you think, brother?" Al asked after Ed remained silent for a few minutes.

"Hell if I know. It just sounds like some crazy guy that's on the loose." Ed said shrugging his shoulders.

"But they said that two people have been killed by central. Shouldn't you be worried about this kind of thing?"

"Fat chance, Al. I may be a dog of the military, but investigating murders doesn't fall under my kind of work. That goes more to the police than anything else."

"But shouldn't we do something about it?"

"No way!" Ed said as he stood up and made possibly the most disfigured face that he could to scare Al. "We could be next to be killed!" Al jumped backwards and threw his hands in the air, but Ed just laughed and laughed as the train sped on towards Central Command.

After a few days of sitting on the train to Central Command, Ed and Al finally made it to the train station. Being relieved to be out of a seat as hard as stone, Ed jumped off the train and stretched with much grandeur as Al gingerly stepped off the train himself.

"Man! It's good to be back!" Ed said as he slung his knapsack over his shoulder and started walking out of the station with Al hot on his heels.

"You said it, Brother." Al said quietly.

"What's eating you, Al?" Ed asked noticing Al's sneak-ish behavior. "You're not still freaked out about that one guy are ya?"

"Well . . .I don't know . . ." Al said quietly.

"Look, don't worry about it! One guy against two Alchemists? That guy doesn't stand a chance!" Ed said laughing and patting Al on the back.

"I still don't like it! They said he may have a sword, Ed! A sword!" Al said moving his hands in a slashing movement.

"And? Führer Bradley has a sword if I remember right. And I change my Automail into a short sword all the time. What makes this guy so different?" Ed said frowning at Al.

"I don't know!" Al said quietly, starting to shake. "That's what makes him so creepy!"

"Don't worry, Al! It's not we're gonna see him here." Ed said as they were walking down the street. But as they rounded the corner to lead them to Central Command, a very strange and disoriented man came sprinting right at them. But there was something very odd about his behavior. He seemed to be running and smiling while he clutched something to his chest in his hands. Though this may have just been someone having a good day or finding something special on the ground, this man had none of the qualities of someone that seemed to enjoy a mid-afternoon run. He seemed to be scanning the whole area with wild eyes. And his smile seemed more forced upon his face than something that naturally happened. Like someone that had just escaped from a prison and was breathing the fresh air for the first time in years. Before the man reached Ed and Al, he tripped on his own foot and stumbled on the ground. As soon as he made contact with the hard concrete, a small golden object flew from his hands and landed before Ed and Al's feet. As Al reached down and picked it up, it seemed to be but a small, golden ring.

"Sir, is this yours?" Al asked as he looked at the man on the ground. But when the man looked up and saw Al holding the ring, his face became contorted into pure hatred and he slowly stood up, muttering to himself some strange language.

"Hey!" Ed yelled as he looked at the man. "Is this ring yours?"

"They have it . . . They can't have it . . . No one can have it!" The man said looking at what seemed to be another person. As Al started to back away, Ed stayed mounted to the spot as he tried to reason with the man.

"Hey! You! Is this yours?" Ed asked one more time.

"We needs it . . . kill them . . . Kill them BOTH!" The man said as he looked at Ed and Al. The man then pulled a rather large knife out of his pocket and charged at Ed with full speed and the determination you would see in someone that was ready to kill.

"No way!" Ed yelled as he quickly clapped his hands together and turned his Automail arm into a short sword. Ed had just enough time to finish his transmutation when the crazed man lunged at him with full force. When the crazed man's stroke hit against Ed's Automail, the knife he wielded broke in two and clattered to the ground. With no weapon to face Ed and Al, the man jumped at Al who was still holding the ring. But before he had the chance, there was a flash of light, and the man was then being pulled to the ground by man stone hands. When Ed was sure that the man was secured on the ground, he walked over and pulled out his State Alchemists pocket watch and showed it to the man being pinned to the ground.

"You made a big mistake attacking a State Alchemist, pal." Ed said dangling the watch in front of the man.

"Give it back!" He said frantically. "Give back the precious!"

"What, that ring?" Ed asked confused. But before he could get a clear answer out of the man, the city police came walking up.

"I'm officer Gannon. We heard the commotion and saw the flash of light. What's going on here?" The officer asked.

"Relax. Al and I have the situation under control." Ed said as he showed him the pocket watch.

"Oh! A State Alchemist! That's good. But what happened?" The officer asked curiously.

"Well, this guy showed up running down the street. When he fell down, he just started attacking me and my brother." Ed said as he pointed to Al. "Isn't that right, Al?" But Al didn't answer. He was still holding the mysterious golden ring in his hands and was staring aimlessly at it, like time and everything around didn't seem to matter anymore. Just this little golden ring in his hand.

"AL!" Ed yelled waving his hand in front of Al's face. "You still with me?"

"Huh . . . uh, yeah." Al said quietly. "Well, we should get going, right, Brother?"

"What's the hurry, Al?" Ed asked confused.

"We want it back!" The crazed man yelled from the spot that held him to the ground. "Give it back to us!"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Ed said remembering the ring. "This guy was also carrying this little ring with him. Here, hand it over, Al." As though he was being backed into a dark corner of the world, Al slowly stepped backwards, but extended his hand to give Ed the ring. When Ed grabbed the ring, a great relief swept over Al and he moved forward without a word. But even as he did so, his eyes never seemed to leave the ring. Like it was a force calling to him, asking him to keep it for himself.

"This ring right here." Ed said as he handed the ring over to the officer. "He called it his precious if I remember right. Must be pretty valuable. But I might guess it's probably stolen if you ask me."

"Ok. Thank you." The Officer said as he held the ring in his hand. "We'll be sure to look into it. Thank you. What's your name?"

"I'm Edward Elrich. And this is my brother, Alphonse" Ed said as he stood with his hands at his side, looking like a big hero.

"Wow, the Full Metal Alchemist! Then I guess the rumors are true, you are pretty short for a State Alchemist." The officer said laughing as Ed tried to control himself from lunging at the man and beating him silly. "Anyways, I'll go ahead and take this back to headquarters and have it checked out. Thank you Edward Elrich. And you too Alphonse."

"Don't mention it." Ed said frowning as he walked away. "Come on, Al, let's get going."

"Huh, yeah. Ok." Al said as he followed Ed away from officer Gannon and the crazed man.

"That was the weirder than that whole mess with Father Cornello." Ed said as they walked towards Central. "But it's not our problem."

"Yeah." Al said halfheartedly.

"What's up, Al? You seem a little off since we met that one guy." Ed said looking at his brother.

"Nothing. But shouldn't we have kept that ring and taken it with us to Central?" Al asked.

"Naw. It'll be better off with the police than with the military. Besides, what would the military do with a golden ring?" Ed asked confused.

"I guess you're right." Al said looking down at the ground. They both walked in relative silence as they made their way to Central Command. When they reached Central, Ed and Al walked into the massive building and walked straight to Coronel Mustangs office and sat down.

"What took you so long, Full Metal?" Mustang asked impatiently.

"We got held up by this creep with a ring. What's it to you?" Ed said sarcastically.

"I would remind you to keep your mouth shut, but obviously that's impossible." Mustang said as Ed looked away from him glaring behind his back. "Anyways, we have a small chore for you to do before we get you into more important work."

"What's up?" Ed asked looking at Mustang with interest.

"I'm sure you heard of this black hooded figure running around?"

"Yeah, we saw it in the paper."

"Well, we want you to go and investigate this matter."

"Why me? This sounds like something for the police to handle." Ed said looking at Mustang irritably.

"Because the man known as Jonathan Midius III used to be ex-military. That means that his murder technically falls under our jurisdiction. You are to find out who this black figure is, and bring him in."

"Whatever. I'm on it." Ed said as he began to walk away. When Ed and Al had left Mustangs office, they left the building of Central Command and walked down the stone steps.

"This is so stupid. I can't believe Mustang is putting this off on me." Ed said as they walked away from Central.

"And I don't want to go after this guy! He seems scary, brother!" Al said scared.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Al! This hooded figure guy is just a big joke!" Ed snapped.

"But he might kill us!" Al stated.

"There have been lots of people that wanna kill us, Al. What makes this guy so bad?" Ed asked. The rest of their walk was nothing but bickering and arguing the way out of Central. Al seemed to be back to normal to Ed, for the most part. So, being a long day and with no real leads to go on for the mysterious black murderer, Ed and Al found a small hotel and decided it would be best to get some rest.

When morning came the next day, Ed woke up surprised to see Al standing by the window. When Ed slipped out of bed and walked over to the window, he saw that there was a large group of people and what looked to be a crime scene.

"What's going on, Al?" Ed asked looking at his brother.

"There has been another murder! And it was by that black figure guy! I just know it!" Al yelled in fear.

"Well, I guess we better go down and see what all the commotion is about." Ed said as he sighed and walked over to put the rest of his clothes on. When Ed was fully dressed, he and Al walked downstairs and out onto the street where the crowd of people was.

"Ok people, out of the way! State Alchemist coming through!" Ed yelled as he pushed through the crowd to the police in the center. When Ed and Al made it to the center to the crime scene, Ed was shocked to see who had been killed.

"Hey, who is this guy?" Ed asked one of the officers.

"He's officer Gannon, sir. He was murdered just last night." The officer said solemnly.

"Officer Gannon? Wait, didn't we see him yesterday, Al?" Ed asked as he looked at his brother.

"Yeah, he was the guy that showed up after we stopped that one guy." Al said looking at the late Officer Gannon.

"He was acting really weird when he left the station last night." The officer continued. "He seemed to be in quite a hurry for some reason. And he kept muttering stuff under his breath." Just then, Al looked down and saw the little golden ring inside Gannon's hand. Al leaned forward and gingerly picked up the ring, examining it closely between his fingers. When Ed saw this, he realized that it was the same ring that the crazed man had before Officer Gannon took it away.

"That's the same ring that that one crazy guy had before we handed it over to Gannon." Ed said looking at the little ring. "Hey, how was this guy killed anyways?" Ed asked the officer.

"We don't know, but what is clear, is that he was killed by lacerations from some kind of sword or knife. We have reason to believe that it may have been the cloaked figure that's been running around. But there's no way to know for sure." The officer said looking at Ed sternly.

"That's good to know. Thanks for the information. We'll be sure to bring this up to Central." Ed said as he bowed low and started to walk away with Al behind him. Ed knew that Al had the ring, but a thought was brewing in his head. Once they were a good ways away from the crowd of people, Ed and Al went back into the hotel room. When they opened the front door, Ed walked inside and fell onto the couch as Al walked to another chair that was across from Ed.

"Ok, Al. I think I may know what's going on." Ed said as he leaned forward and looked at Al.

"Huh, yeah. What's up, brother." Al asked as he looked intently at the ring.

"I think that that ring may have something to do with the murders by that one Cloaked Figure guy." Ed said. But to his surprise, Al didn't seem to react at all when he heard this. Before, Al seemed to be deathly afraid of the figure, but now, it seemed like he could care less.

"Al?" Ed said as he reached for the ring. But when he tried to grab it, Al moved away and stood up.

"Well! I think I'm going to get some sleep! Good night, Brother!" Al said as he ran into the other room.

"What do you mean!? It's still morning you dunderhead!" Ed said as he chased Al into the other room. But when he walked into the room, there was no one there. Al was too big to try and get out through the window, and there was no sign of any transmutations.

"Very funny, Al! Where are you?" Ed asked as he scanned the room.

"What do you mean, Brother? I'm right here." Al said off to one side. But when Ed turned to look, Al still wasn't there.

"Where are you, Al! This isn't funny!" Ed said running around the room. But to his shock, when he ran forward, something very large and metal was in his way. But when he looked, there was nothing there. Ed got up as quickly as he could, and felt through the air until he reached the spot where he ran into the invisible object. His hands then fell on the cold armor that Al bound too.

"Are you blind, Brother?" Al asked as he moved away.

"No! I can't see you, Al!" Ed yelled as he tried to find Al again.

"You can't? But how!" Al said as he tried to find the source of his invisibility. As he did so, the ring slipped of the finger that he had put it on, and fell to the ground. Al was now right in front of Ed as he scrambled to get the ring. Ed saw Al run for the ring, and quickly put his boot on top of it, and proceeded to pick it up.

"Did you put this on?" Ed asked Al, looking intently at the ring with fear.

"I just wanted to see if it fit . . ." Al said sheepishly. Ed looked at the ring one more time before slipping it on himself. There was a loud yell that came from Al when he saw that Ed had completely disappeared. Al's scream had proved it once Ed took the ring off and slipped it inside his pocket.

"Brother! You were gone! Invisible!" Al stammered as he ran over to Ed.

"A ring that makes you invisible, huh? Well that would explain a lot." Ed said pulling the ring out and looking at it. "I don't like this thing, Al."

"Why not? It can make you invisible! And besides, I saw it first!"

"You saw it first? What the hell does it matter who saw it first!?"

"I don't know." Al said as he moved closer.

"We need someone to take a look at this thing, Al. I don't like this one bit." Ed said as he pushed the ring into his pocket again.

"Maybe . . . I should hold onto it, Brother?" Al asked as Ed walked out of the room. Ed knew that this ring was not right. An odd feeling was beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. Something about this ring was making Al seem very different. Sure, the ring could turn you invisible, but it was more than that. His brother just acted weird around the thing.

"I'll hold onto it for a while, Al." Ed said looking sternly at his brother. "This thing doesn't sit right with me. And I don't want to get you hurt because of it."

"Oh . . . Ok." Al said seeming displeased with Ed's decision to keep the ring.

"We better get going. We need to find out where this hooded creep might be, and who he is going to kill next if we can. If this ring really does make you invisible, I can see why someone would kill for the chance to have it."

"Ok."

For the rest of the day, Ed and Al walked all around the city trying to find clues to all the murder victims. When they arrived at the house of Officer Gannon, his wife had nothing to say. She said that he went to work, but never made it home. After Gannon's house, Ed and Al made their way over to Samuels's house. His wife however, had much to say.

"He was acting strange. It seemed to start a few days after Jonathan Midius III death. He came home and seemed . . . distant. He would barely talk at all. And when I tried to talk to him, he would yell at me and tell me to leave him alone with his . . . precious, I think it was." Samuel's said through tears.

"Did he happen to have anything with him?" Ed asked wearily.

"Yes. It looked like he had a golden ring with him the whole time." The lights went on immediately in Ed's head as he thanked the wife of Samuel and left without another word. It had gotten dark in the time it took to speak with Samuel's wife, so Ed and Al started the long walk back to the hotel.

"This ring has to have something to do with this hooded guy." Ed said walking with Al through the streets. "I think it might belong to the guy that's killing all these people."

"So what do we do, Brother?"

"Well, I'm almost certain that this guy will come after us because we have it. Once he comes for us, if he comes for us, then we'll take him down."

"And what about the ring, Brother?" Al asked quietly.

"We'll turn it over to headquarters."

"But why, Brother? Shouldn't we hold onto it?"

"No. I don't like this thing, Al. And it seems to be affecting you with some kind of weird alchemy that I've never heard of. We need to get away from it. Especially you."

"But, Brother!" Al had just enough time to finish what he said when he suddenly bumped into an old man that was slumped over a very tall wooden staff. The man was clad in an old grey cloak with a beard that stretch down past his waist, and was tucked under his belt. At his side, was a very long sword in a blue sheath. Once Ed saw the sword, he quickly transmuted his auto mail and backed away from the man.

"So! The cloaked figure comes to us, huh?" Ed said to the old man as he readied for an attack. But the old man stood still as he lifted his head and looked at Ed and Al with interest.

"Cloaked figure?" The old man said with interest. "So you have seen him too?"

"What? No, we haven't." Ed said confused.

"Well, that is a problem. For the thing you seek, is the same as I."

"What do you mean?"

"Just as I have said, Boy. I'm afraid to say that I'm looking for him as well. But my task also involves looking for something of great value. Which, I dare say, you may have with you at this very moment." Ed was startled to hear what this old man had to say. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the ring.

"So my luck has not run out. I'm glad to see you have it. But there is still the Nazgȕl to deal with before my task is done."

"Naz-what?"

"I see there is much I need to explain to you. Is there a place we might talk in secrecy? I do not wish for people to hear what I have to say than I already have."

"Uh . . . Yeah." Ed said as he led the old man down the street and to the hotel that he and Al were staying at. When the three of them were inside, the old man sat down in one of the chairs, and put his sword off to the side, but kept his staff at his side as he pulled out a long tobacco pipe and lit it. As the old man smoked inside the room, Ed cautiously moved to sit across from him, keeping an ever watchful eye on this new stranger.

"Ok, old man. What's going on?" Ed asked after some time had passed. The old man let lose a large ring of smoke and watched it drift into the air before he looked and Ed and Al.

"I'm afraid that I have made a very large error in what I have done regarding that ring you have there." The old man said sighing heavily. "One of my many misjudgments, but one I'm glad to say I can fix."

"Who are you?" Ed asked as Al sat next to him.

"I go by many names, my dear fellow. But you may call me, Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey." The old man said smiling.

"Ok. But what do you have to do with this Naz-guy and this ring?"

"That is indeed a long tale to tell. But I will try to my best to explain while we still have time." Ed and Al just looked at the old man as he took a long drag from his pipe and watched another smoke ring sail lazily into the air. "First, I shall tell you of the ring. The ring you have there is not of this world, and neither am I, or the Nazgȕl. We come from a very different place than you exist here. A different plane of existence of that helps you understand. The ring itself is an evil thing that was forged long ago in the fires of Mount Doom, by the dark lord Sauron. After his defeat, he attached his own life essence into this one ring. So through the ring, he still exists. The ring itself is now a great evil that festers here and soon in my world. It has great power within it, but it has claimed the lives of many men in the years since it has been wrought."

"But I don't understand, how did it get here? And what do you mean you're from a different plane of existence" Ed asked dumbfounded. This tale so far was far from believable as Ed and Al listened intently at what Gandalf had to say.

"I come from another world. And so does the ring. But that is where my mistake comes in. The ring was lost for some time after the dark lord was defeated. But upon chance, it was found again. When I seized control of it, I had little time to dispose of it before its powers took hold on me. So, in an attempt to send it where it would not cause any harm, I sent myself through space and time, and left it here, in your world. But unbeknownst to me, the dark lord's power through the ring was still very strong. And so, one of the Nazgȕl traversed the very fabrics of time and space, and ended up here to claim the ring."

"So what if he does? Won't he just go back?" Al asked unexpectedly.

"He will most likely do that, my young friend. But that means that the peoples of Middle Earth would be in grave danger. Once I learned that one of the Nazgȕl made it here, I made the journey back here to hopefully find the ring, and bring it back to my world. And I can see that my luck is still as good as ever."

"That makes no sense!" Ed said standing up angrily. "How the hell did you make it here? There's no alchemy that can do something like that! I think you're just lying to us!"

"As I have told you, I am not of this world. I have powers that surpass even the laws of your alchemy." Gandalf said looking at Ed. "The laws of your equivalent exchange do not affect me. But I must ask you to give me the ring. The sooner it is from this world, the better it will be for all who have fallen prey to the Nazgȕl here." But as Gandalf stood to approach Ed, Ed backed away as quickly as he could, and transmuted his Automail into a short sword.

"I don't believe you!" Ed said glaring at Gandalf feverishly. "If you really are what you say you are, then prove it!" Gandalf did not take this threat idly. Gandalf picked up his staff and pointed it at Ed. As Ed lunged forward to stop whatever Gandalf had planned for him, he suddenly froze in midair. Al, seeing what had just transpired, ran full speed at Gandalf, but he too found himself floating in the air with Ed.

"What is this!?" Ed yelled thrashing in the air. "What did you do!?"

"I have already told you. I have powers as a wizard that even you cannot understand, Alchemist." Gandalf said glaring at Ed. "Now if you don't mind, I would very much like to be on with my business. Please, give me the ring, before the Nazgȕl returns." But Gandalf had spoken too soon as the three of them heard a terrible shriek come from outside the door. At once, Gandalf let Ed and Al fall to the ground as he drew his sword. Ed and Al stood up and watched the door intently as they all heard footsteps coming slowly to the door. The door then burst open, and in it, was a huge black figure. The robes he wore seemed to be torn and very worn in as they frayed back and forth. His face could not be seen as he moved his hand across his body to his sword. When the Nazgȕl drew his sword, he began to speak in a very hissing like language, but Ed and Al could not understand it. Ed was staring blankly at the figure with a mixture of fear and adrenaline, as Al stood at the ready. Something like this was much more terrifying then Ed thought it might be. The Nazgȕl seemed to be nothing but pure evil and it slowly approached the three of them. Weather it was out of fear or confusion, Ed yelled loud as he jumped at the figure, with Al right on his feet. The Nazgȕl ducked as Ed slashed at his head. But just as he ducked, Al landed a kick on to the Nazgȕls' side, and threw him across the room. But just as quickly as the strike landed, the Nazgȕl stood up, and lunged at Ed swinging his sword. Ed had just enough time to block, but was knocked across the room at full force.

"Fool!" Gandalf said as he swung at the Nazgȕl. "Give me the ring! If I have the ring, I can lead him away from this place!" The Nazgȕl, hearing the Ed had the ring, lunged at him with his sword pointed right at Ed. Al jumped in the way as the Nazgȕls sword pierced through Al's armor.

"Al!" Ed yelled as he ran towards Al.

"I'm fine!" Al said back as he hit the Nazgȕl, knocking him and his sword across the room. Ed saw his chance, and pulled the ring out of his pocket. He then ran over to Gandalf to give the ring back to him, but then something pulled him back.

"Al! What are you doing!?" Ed yelled as Al pulled him back.

"No, Brother! I want to keep it!" Al said as he pulled Ed backwards.

"We can't keep it you idiot! What about that Naz-thingy! We have to get rid of it!"

"NO! I want to keep it!" Al said as he threw Ed across the room. Ed fell and the ring fell out of his pocket. The Nazgȕl saw the ring and shrieked as he ran towards Ed, but Gandalf stopped him in his path and attacked the Nazgȕl with all the power he could muster. As Al saw the ring he jumped for it, but Ed picked it up first. Before Ed could get up, Al jumped on him and put his gauntlets around Ed's throat.

"Stop it, Al!" Ed said trying to get free.

"I won't let you get rid of my precious!" Al yelled as he tightened his grip around Ed's throat. There was desperation in Al's voice as he griped Ed's throat. Al seemed to want nothing between him and the ring as Ed struggled for breath.

"Don't you see what you're doing, you idiot!" Ed said quietly. "Would you really kill your own brother for that thing!? Would you really kill me for something so small! Do you even know what you're doing?" Gandalf looked down at Ed and Al and jumped at the ring sitting beside them both. Without a second thought, Gandalf took the ring and stepped back as the Nazgȕl lunged at him. Gandalf struck the Nazgȕl hard on the side of his chest, and before the Nazgȕl could strike again, Gandalf disappeared. Seeing that the ring was nowhere to be found, the Nazgȕl turned on his heel, and disappeared as well.

Even though the threat was gone, Al was still choking Ed in rage knowing that the ring was gone. There was no trace that the ring, Gandalf, or the Nazgȕl had ever been there. They simply left as quickly as they could. But the struggle for the ring with Al and Ed didn't seem to stop.

"It's gone, Al!" Ed said as he began to lose breath. "Let me go!" But Al only let one hand go as he lifted the other and hit Ed hard in the face. Ed flew sideways and landed across the floor gasping for air as Al stood up and walked over to him.

"It's gone, Ed! And it's all your fault!" Al said as he stood over Ed. There was a mass of great loathing and hate in Al's voice as he balled his fist and struck Ed again. It was as if there was nothing that Ed could do, except try and talk Al out of trance. So, as Al walked over Ed to strike him again, Ed kicked Al and tried to get some distance between him and his brother.

"So what are you going to do, Al?" Ed asked looking up at his brother. "Do you even see what you're doing!? Look at yourself! Are you really going to kill me!?" Al lifted his fist, and was ready to strike again. But before Al hit Ed again, he shook his head and tried to concentrate. To Ed, it looked like Al was struggling to decide what to do next. Almost as if Al was really faced with something that, deep down, he really didn't want to do. Like a trance that was broken inside him, Al stepped back, and fell to the floor shaking. Ed looked at his brother and stood up, and Al stared at his hands and looked at his Brother.

"E-Ed . . . I . . ." Al said whimpering as Ed walked over to him. Ed moved down and stood on his knees as he looked at Al.

"Al? Are you ok?" Ed asked. Al grabbed Ed and pulled him close to him and started to cry. Ed grabbed his brother and held him close. The better side of Al had won.

"I'm so sorry, Brother! I don't know what I was doing! I was just so angry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Al said as Ed patted his back. "I don't know what was going on! I-I-I . . ."

"It's ok, Al. I knew that thing was bad news when I saw it. I'm just glad it's gone, and I'm glad you're ok."

"But what about you, Brother!? I almost killed you! Over something so small and stupid!" Ed pulled away from Al and looked at him with a big grin.

"I'm fine, Al. That thing is gone, and so is that Naz-whatever. I'm just glad to have my brother back."

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

"Between you and me, Al, I hope we don't."


End file.
